Reichenau is a village in the municipality of Tamins in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, where the two RhinetributariesVorderrhein and Hinterrhein meet. It is a major traffic junction of the routes from Chur towards the Operalppass and Lukmanierpass and from Chur towards San Bernardino Pass and Julierpass.
The civilisation of the place is traced back till 500 A.D. The name originates from the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau on Reichenau island in Lake Constance which owned properties in this location during the Middle Ages. The monastery was founded in 724 an drew to itself abbots with connections to the highest Carolingian and Ottonian society; it housed a school, and a famous scriptorium. See Abbey of Reichenau.
Already in the 14th century the first bridges were built over the Rhine tributaries.
A roadhouse was built 1570 to collect the bridge toll. In the 17th century the first buildings for the sovereignty of Reichenau were built which became the castle of Reichenau. The Rhaetian Railways reached Reichenau 1896.
Reichenau at the confluence of the Rhine tributaries
The word "Zell" (cell) in the names of the three villages of Reichenau indicates the existence of a monastery on the island, which was the "reiche Aue" (the fertile islet) of medieval culture.
The growth of Reichenau was greatly fostered by its position on the highway to Italy, which was frequented by Greek and Italian, and even Irish and Icelandic pilgrims and wayfarers.
Reichenau displayed its greatest lustre in the first centuries after its foundation (especially between the ninth and the middle of the thirteenth centuries), during which it discharged its great work of civilization.
Feeds |
Contact